Page 259 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

The King wore a golden robe, purple trousers and wore his hair in a bun fastened with a
golden brooch. The court officials and aristocrats wore a dark tunic having four flaps, closely
buttoned collar, dark trousers, and wore a bun with an iron brooch. On their heads they wore a
black gauze chuddar and peaked cap. They also wore leather sandals and carried fans of
stork feathers.
The military uniforms were “dau mau” cap covering the ears, knee-length tunic, neatly sewn
sleeves tightly fitted around the wrist. The whole of the frock was covered with small pieces of
armor plate full of spiral designs, or patterns of multiple large petalled flowers at the chest. In
addition, there were patterns of parallel curved brims or spiral designs below which hung
small bells, drooping fringes, and finally a line of bells. For some other kinds of frocks, the
shoulder straps were adorned with bells, and the two shoulder bands and waistband
decorated with tiger-face designs. The surface of the frock was decorated with prominent
small multi-petalled flowers. The fabric had a tiled or scaled pattern, which might have been
embroidered or woven into the fabric. A waistband made of cloth was tied with the ends
dropping to the front. If a leather waistband was worn, it would be tightly fastened around the
belly to reveal the body muscles. The boots reached up to the knee and were simply
decorated.

Female dancers had a “skyward” bun, a decorative fringe of hair on the forehead, with
flowers adorning the hair. They wore bracelets, strings of beads, as well as multi-pleated
short skirts. The musician’s costumes were quite original. A cap fully covered the hair, with a
high and zigzag-fringed top. The inner shirt was with long sleeves, tight at the wrist. Added to
that, there was a short-sleeved shirt, with vân kiên shards. They wore wide embroidered and
fringed strips of cloth around the waist. On their calves were leggings, and covering the feet
were pointed-toe canvas shoes.

Tattooing remained a custom during this period, a common practice for the King and his
soldiers as well. The Imperial Guards tattooed distinctive marks on their chest and legs, as
well as dragon patterns. Similar to the Anterior Lê Dynasty, they would brand the three words
Thiên tử quân on the forehead. The armor of military leaders was also decorated with
attached bells, which signaled that they were highly grateful to their benefactors. This was
done in a spirit of national pride and the continuing development of traditional customs.

There is a special statue from this period which shows a very refined dress style. The
Buddha Amitabha statue, sometimes known as Buddhalokanatha statue, in Phật Tích Pagoda
is a breathtakingly beautiful stone sculpture with sophisticated costuming. The ritual robe has
curved, straight, zigzag or drooping fringes which make it full of movement. The robe’s pleats
rise like the veins of a lotus leaf, closely fitted to the body, and drop either vertically as a spring
stream, or pliantly like waves in the ocean, even expanding horizontally in a gentle way.
Although the statue is made of stone, the above features show that the robe was broad and
made of smooth and delicate fabrics. The inner garment, a kind of tunic has a broad collar
with crossed edges. The sleeves are very wide. The waistband, worn outside the tunic is tied
into the shape of a horizontal Figure 8, with dropping straps.
Costumes of the common people